Breathe In Breathe Out
by acciosilverdoe
Summary: Complete. "I think I'm falling in love with you," he whispered. "That's too bad," she whispered back, leaning her forehead against his. "'Cause I know I'm falling in love with you." Tony/Kate. I said it was a one-shot. I lied.
1. The Night Before

**A/N: Another random Tate NCIS fic. Because I love them and live in denial that she ever died! This is only short, and the idea is kinda cliche and has probably been done a lot of times before. But anyways I wrote it to pass the time (and avoid homework). Hope you enjoy. Please review.**

**Disclaimer: After reading you'll understand why I don't own NCIS. **

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Damn it!" Kate slammed her car door and sighed. Why was it always the days when she wanted to get home quickly that her car decided not to start? She rested her elbows on top of the car and put her head in her hands, trying to somehow magic her car into working. She was so tired she could cry, all she wanted, was to crawl into bed and sleep for days. But she knew she'd only get a few hours until another case came in that she was needed on. And that was if she ever got home.

"Kate?" She heard a familiar voice behind her, raised her head and turned around slowly. "You okay?" Tony asked.

Kate shrugged. "Fine," and looked down at the floor.

He took a few steps towards her before she looked back up at him. "Car not starting again?" He tilted his head to the side slightly. It wasn't the first time that she'd had trouble with that car, but no matter how many times she was told, she would not sell it. She insisted that it wasn't as bad as she made out, and by now everyone knew better than to disagree.

She nodded. "It's okay. I'll just stay here."

He rolled his eyes and held out his hand to her. "Come on, I'll give you a ride home."

Kate looked at his hand and then up to his eyes. She paused before replying. "It's okay, really."

Tony shook his head. "No, it's not, I'm giving you a ride. You don't even have a choice."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fifteen minutes later they arrived at Kate's apartment block. She didn't ask how he knew where she lived, although the thought did cross her mind. They sat in the car for a few moments before she turned to face him.

"You want to come in? For a drink or something?" She bit her lip.

"Sure," he nodded and opened his door. She smiled to herself, before opening her door and they walked up the path, together. She rooted through her bag for her keys before finding them and opening the door so they could get inside out of the cold night air. He followed her to the elevator where she pressed the button for the fifth floor. Neither of them could quite think of anything to say, deciding instead to watch the lights changing as they moved floor, an awkward silence hanging in the air. Finally the door opened and they walked down the hall and into her room.

Kate walked in first, dropping her jacket over the back of a chair before swapping her heels for a pair of slippers. She disappeared into her bedroom, emerging a few seconds later with an old college sweater. She put it on over her t-shirt and walked into the kitchen. Tony watched her closely, smiling at her routine. He followed her into the kitchen, and leant against the door frame casually.

"You want a coffee, Tony?" She asked, flicking the kettle on.

"Please," he said, making eye contact with her.

"What?" She asked curiously.

"Nothing," he shrugged.

She watched him for a few moments longer before shaking her head and turning to the cupboard and getting out two mugs. "You can go sit down, I'll be there in a minute."

"Okay," he replied and made his way through to the living room. He studied the pictures on the wall closely, wondering if he was in any of them. There were some of Kate and her family, many dating back to when she was in school. There was a couple from some of her previous jobs, and then one taken a few weeks ago in their work office. He was stood on the end next to Kate. Abby was on the other side of her, then Tim, then Gibbs, and Ducky was standing at the other end. He smiled when he saw this picture was in the middle, making it seem important to her. He hoped.

He looked at the picture for a few moments before sitting down on the couch. Kate walked in and put the two mugs of coffee down on the table before flicking the light on and sitting down next to him. She grabbed the TV remote and switched it on, flicking through a few channels before settling on an old _Friends_ rerun.

After what seemed like no time at all, Tony glanced at his watch and raised his eyebrows. Two hours had passed since they'd arrived home and it was now just gone 11pm. He looked over at Kate who had fallen asleep. He smiled. _She looks so beautiful asleep. Forget that, she always looks beautiful, _he thought to himself. Carefully he took the remote from her hand, switched the TV off and stood up. He picked her up gently, careful not to wake her up, and carried her to her bedroom. He layed her down and pulled the covers up over her, before sitting on the edge of the bed.

He reached his hand across to brush the hair out of her eyes, and leant down to kiss her forehead gently. He pulled back slightly, keeping his eyes shut. "I love you, Kate," he whispered. It had only been a couple of weeks ago that he'd realized how strongly he really felt about her, but he knew he could never tell her the truth, at least not to her face. He was too scared that she wouldn't feel the same, or that she'd just laugh at him. He pulled back further and stood up, getting all the way to the door before turning around to look at her again. She looked so small laying there asleep. She was beautiful, he knew it. And perfect to his eyes even with her flaws.

Shaking his head, he flicked the living room light off and walked back to her bed. Carefully sitting down, he took off his shoes before laying down behind her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her neck. She'd probably kill him when she woke up, but for now it was perfect.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**A/N2: Thanks for reading. Make the button's day and click it:) **

**And I may be persuaded to write another chapter of the next morning if anyone wants me to. If my crappy writing didn't put you off!! **

**-Beth**


	2. The Morning After

**A/N: Well people seemed to want more, so I wrote more. I'm really enjoying writing this so I may continue. I know I shouldn't be starting a new fic when I still have others to finish, but this is easy to write. Thanks to everyone who reviewed you guys made my day!! Well the reviews and my new legwarmers I made from old socks! Hehe. :P**

**Disclaimer: See chap.1.**

------------------------------------------------------------

The beeping alarm clock woke Kate from her dreams. She hadn't dreamed in ages, at least she hadn't remembered any. This one stuck, however. It scared her how, even now that she was awake, real it felt. She reached over and silenced the irritating beeping sound, and turned over. She jumped slightly when she saw Tony next to him, and he began to stir. He opened his eyes after a few moments and smiled when he saw her.

"Tony what the hell are you doing here?" She asked, glaring at him.

"You asked me in," he winked.

She frowned as she remembered the previous day. "I did, didn't I?" Tony nodded. "But why are you _still _here?"

He shrugged. "You fell asleep, so I carried you in here. And then I...well I stayed," he mumbled the last bit as he realized there wasn't even a proper explanation for why he'd stayed.

"Right, okay, umm..." She drifted off. "I need to get up for work."

"Yeah, I guess I do too, I should go home and get some clothes," he replied and watched as she stood up. He still couldn't think of a good reason for why he'd stayed with her last night, all he knew was that something had told him to. And he was still expecting her to hit him for staying without an invitation.

"I'm gonna jump in the shower, if you wait I'll drop you off at yours on the way to work," she suggested.

"Umm, well your car's still at work. Which is why I'm here. Remember?" He replied.

"Oh, right, yeah. Well you can drive us to yours and then take me to work," she smiled.

"Okay," he sat up and walked to her. He kissed her forehead gently before walking through to the living room.

Kate paused for a few seconds before walking into the bathroom. She could feel where his lips had touched her forehead, and the feeling made her dizzy. She couldn't shake the dream out of her head as she turned on the water and stepped into the shower.

------------------------------------------------------------

Half an hour later they arrived at Tony's apartment. They both got out of the car and walked up the steps to the building. Once getting into the apartment, Kate found a seat on the couch whilst Tony changed into clean clothes. Before leaving his room and joining her in the living room, he checked his watch and noted that they still had twenty minutes before they needed to leave for work.

"Hey Katie," Tony said cheerfully as he walked back into the living room.

She glared at him. "How many time, Tony, don't call me Katie."

He smiled. "Whatever you say," and sat down next to her. "So we still have twenty minutes till we need to leave. Any idea to pass the time?"

Kate looked at him. There were so many things she could think of right in that moment, most of them including the two of them together, kissing, possibly naked. She made eye contact with him and held it for a few seconds, getting lost in his eyes. He had nice eyes, she noticed, eyes she could really trust to tell the truth. She decided to put her theory to the test. "Why did you really stay with me last night?"

He looked down at his hands. "I don't know," he muttered.

"Tony look at me," she said, and waiting for him to look back up at her. "Look me in the eye and tell me you really don't know why you stayed."

He took a deep breath. "I..." He hesitated. "I stayed because I couldn't bear to leave you," he said, not looking away from her.

She bit her lip. "Tony...I..." She closed her eyes and brushed a hand through her hair.

He took his chance while she had her eyes shut to shuffle further along the couch nearer to her. He put his hand on her cheek and rubbed little circles with his thumb. "Kate I need to say something but I need you to look at me when I do."

She waited a few seconds before looking back at him. "Okay," she said quietly.

He took another deep breath and smiled. "I think I'm falling in love with you," he whispered.

She gasped slightly as her stomach began flipping over. She felt like everything she'd ever wanted had finally come true. She smiled back at him and leant forward, crashing her lips on his. Their tongues battled for a while until the need for air became to much and they parted. "That's too bad," she whispered back, leaning her forehead against his. "'Cause I know I'm falling in love with you."

------------------------------------------------------------

**A/N2: Was it too fluffy?? Cuz I get carried away writing fluff and can't usually stop. I wanted her to yell at him when she woke up, but for some reason that happened. Anyways, I'm still thinking I could write more if you guys wanted it. Probably gonna be them going to work and trying to hide it from the rest of the NCIS people, especially Gibbs. Then maybe a date, and everyone finding out. But I promise I'll write some angst in there too to keep it more real. **

**Anywhoo, you know what to do, click the little button that says 'go' and leave me a review. **

**Until next time, -Beth. **


	3. Telling Gibbs

_A/N: I know it's been ages since I've updated this but I was really busy, then had Christmas, and then I had January on hiatus from updating so I could study for exams (which I've totally failed so I may as well have kept updating!) So anyways, here's the next chapter, hope people are still reading this. Enjoy :) and thanks for all the reviews they were great!_

_Disclaimer: NCIS isn't mine. It's that simple._

_**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**_

"No, Kate, you do it," Tony insisted.

"It'll be better coming from you," Kate replied.

"Trust me, it won't," he rolled his eyes.

They sighed as the elevator doors opened for them to get out. "How about we both do it?" Kate reasoned. "At least he'll be mad at both of us then, and the other won't feel guilty."

Tony nodded. "Okay. We'll both do it," he nodded. "This'll be interesting."

They walked along to their desks, dropping off their stuff before moving to stand in front of Gibbs' desk. He ignored them for a few seconds before looking up and raising his eyebrows expectantly. "Yes?"

Kate and Tony glanced at each other. "Umm, Gibbs, we have something we need to tell you," she said quietly.

"What?"

She looked at Tony, hoping he'd take charge and tell Gibbs. They knew their boss wasn't a fan of relationships between partners, but they hoped he'd be okay with them. McGee watched them from behind, eager to know what it was they needed to tell Gibbs.

"Well?" Gibbs pushed.

"We're dating," Tony said suddenly. Kate bit her lip and watched for Gibbs' reaction.

After a few seconds, which felt like hours to them, he nodded. "Okay. We have a case, by the way, grab your gear." He stood up and starting walking towards the elevator, McGee close behind.

Tony looked at Kate and smiled. "Looks like he's okay with it."

"Yeah," she agreed. "For now."

They grabbed their stuff and followed Gibbs and McGee to the elevator. When the doors had closed, Gibbs turned to the two of them and said, "don't let this affect how you work. Or one of you will leave." They nodded and he turned back around. "Oh, and one more thing. It's about time."

**NCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCIS**

When the got back to the NCIS office later that day, Gibbs ordered Kate to take evidence down to Abby while Tony and McGee searched for information on the marine's death they were investigating.

As Kate walked into Abby's music she was hit by the usual loud music. She smiled when she saw Abby jumping around her lab, obviously bored and making her own fun. "Hey Abs," she shouted over the music.

Abby turned around and clicked the music off. "Kate!" She grinned and hugged her.

"Okay, you seem happy," Kate looked at her suspiciously.

Abby shrugged. "Yeah, well, maybe I am."

"And why would that be?"

"Just something Timmy told me," Abby grinned.

"Oh, what would that be?" Kate asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Humm, I don't know, maybe two of my favourite people finally getting together," she shrugged.

Kate smiled. "Yeah, I heard about that too."

Abby laughed. "Anyways, I'm guessing you didn't come down here to talk about you and Tony."

"You'd be guessing right. Gibbs wanted me to give you this," she handed her a bag of clothes. "He wanted any DNA you could get off there."

"Easy," Abby took the bag. "Glad I have something to do."

"Yeah, well I better get back up or Gibbs'll be down here looking for me. See you later."

"Bye Kate," Abby mumbled, engrossed in her work. Kate rolled her eyes and walked back up to the office.

**NCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCIS**

"Aaaaand done," Tony leant back in his chair and smiled. "Kate you nearly finished?"

She looked up at him and nodded. "Yup. Give me five minutes and I'll be done too."

"Okay," he said, looking around the office to see if McGee was still there, but all he found was an empty chair. He sighed and grabbed a pen, clicking it on and off a few times. After a few seconds he got bored of that and started tapping his feet on the floor. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Kate look up at him again. "What?"

"Can you stop that please?"

Tony shrugged. "Sure."

Five minutes later she stood up and walked over to his desk. "Okay, I'm done," he smiled.

"You want to grab something to eat?"

"Tony it's like half one in the morning," she laughed.

"And?" He raised his eyebrows.

"Fine, let's go," he stood up and took her hand, leading her towards the elevator. Gibbs watched them and smiled to himself. He really hoped they'd work out, because he didn't want to lose either of them if it didn't.

**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

_A/N2: Thanks for reading. I know that was really short but I didn't want to start on the next part until the next chapter, you'll see why soon. Hope you enjoyed though. Please review and let me know what you thought._

_-Beth_


	4. Just Gotta Keep Breathing

_A/N: Here's more. Hope you enjoy this chapter. Now read (and review). Thanks Zoe for beta reading._

_Disclaimer: That'd be explained in chapter one._

**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Six Months Later

Kate opened her eyes slowly and was blinded by the bright sunlight shining through the window. She could feel Tony's arm wrapped around her waist, and his breath tickling her shoulder told her he was still asleep. She turned around careful not to wake him, and lay watching him sleep for a few minutes. It had surprised her how quickly they'd settled into a routine. She'd go back to his after work most days, his apartment was closer and it was easier rather than them travelling so far to hers. Some nights they'd rent a movie to watch and fall asleep next to each other on the couch. Other nights he'd take her out for a meal in town. Some nights they neglected food and headed straight for the bedroom. They argued every now and then about stupid things like what to eat for breakfast, or which movie to watch, but they always made up quickly. After four months he'd asked her to move in with him, seeing as she spent most of her time at his apartment anyway.

She smiled as his eyes opened and met hers. He leant forward and kissed her gently, before pulling her against him.

"Morning," he mumbled against her hair.

"Hey," she whispered. Any minute now the alarm would go off, alerting them that they had to get up and get ready for work, but for now they were content just lying next to each other. She linked an arm around his waist and pulled him in closer, if closer was even possible.

Sure enough, after a few minutes the alarm went off. Tony leant over and switched it off, but didn't make any effort to get up.

"We should really move," he said after a few seconds.

"Or we could stay here," Kate looked up at him and smiled.

He raised his eyebrows and kissed her forehead. "As nice as that sounds, I'd rather not be killed by Gibbs for being late again."

She groaned and pushed away from him. "I guess you're right. Let's go."

**NCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCIS**

Nearly forty five minutes later they walked into the bullpen, his fingers linked through hers. When they got to her desk he let go and kissed her forehead gently before walking to his own desk and they both set up their stuff. Gibbs and McGee were already there.

"Hey, Probie, we got a case?" Tony asked McGee.

"Nope," he replied and turned to face Kate. "Oh, Abby wanted to see you about something."

Kate frowned. "About what?"

Tim shrugged. "She wouldn't say. She just told me to ask you to go down to her lab when you arrived."

Kate nodded. "Okay, well I better go." She walked away from her desk and to the elevator. When she walked into Abby's lab she saw her friend sitting working on her computer, and she cleared her throat to alert Abby she was there.

"Kate, you're here!" Abby grinned and stood up.

"Yeah, McGee said you wanted me for something," Kate said, getting right to the point.

At this Abby's face dropped. "Yeah, well, you see, um..."

"Abby stop hesitating, just tell me."

"Right, yeah," she paused. "Look, the other day I saw Tony-"

"Good for you. I see Tony most days too," Kate said sarcastically.

"Let me finish," Abby snapped and Kate shut up. "He was with this girl..."

"Abby, don't," Kate warned.

"I have to. He was with this girl, and I don't think they were just friends," she stopped, waiting for Kate's reaction.

Kate stood in silence for a few minutes, taking in what Abby had told her. She couldn't really be saying Tony was cheating on her, could she? "No, Abby, you're wrong," she shook her head. "I don't believe you, just don't," she started walking out of the lab.

"Kate-"

"Don't, Abby. Just don't," she cut her off.

Abby sighed and watched her go. She couldn't do anything more to make Kate believe her. She knew what she'd seen, and no matter how much she hated it she couldn't let Tony get away with it. She was finding it hard to believe herself so she knew Kate must find it hard to understand too, but Abby knew sooner or later she'd realize herself.

**NCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCIS**

Kate sat at her desk thinking about what Abby had told her. Surely she was mistaken, she'd seen someone else who looked like Tony with another girl, or maybe it was him but the angle at which she'd been had made it look worse than it actually was. Kate couldn't decide whether or not to talk to Tony about it herself, maybe he had a perfectly good explanation, but maybe she didn't want to hear it. Maybe it was better not knowing the truth and just making up her own conclusions about it all. For once, she was glad they didn't have a case.

Just after one Tony stood up. "I'm going to get lunch, anybody want anything?" McGee asked for a sandwich, as did Kate, but Gibbs just shook his head. "Okay, well, I'll be back soon."

Kate watched him leave and wondered if 'lunch' was just a ploy to get out and see the mystery girl. As soon as that thought entered her mind she cursed herself, _there is no mystery girl, _she told herself. _You know you trust him. _But she wasn't sure if she did. She wanted to see for herself what Abby had seen, if there really was anything to see. She stood up and followed Tony out, not bothering to tell Gibbs or McGee where she was going.

The warm air hit her immediately, it was a huge difference from the cool air from the AC inside the bullpen. She looked around trying to work out which way Tony would have gone, deciding on left as the nearest Starbucks was that way. She walked quickly and saw him as soon as she rounded the corner. She stayed a good fifty metres behind him the whole time, praying he'd just walk into the shop, buy lunch and come back to work. However, he didn't stop, instead he carried on going and stopped at a bench a few metres further away. He sat down and looked around. _Maybe he's just taking a break, _Kate said to herself. Just because he was sitting down didn't mean he was seeing someone else behind her back.

But standing up and hugging a girl did. Kate squinted to try and see who the girl was, but no matter how long she looked for she couldn't recognise her. She watched as Tony pulled her into his arms and kissed her head, before sitting her down next to him on the bench. Kate turned away, hating how she'd refused to believe Abby until she'd seen it with her own eyes. When she looked back the two of them were talking, and Tony's hand rested on the girl's shoulder. She turned away again and started walking quickly back to NCIS HQ, she couldn't bear seeing that scene anymore. She was walking so fast she could easily have run, but the tears that were clouding up her eyes meant she couldn't see and she didn't really want to walk into anyone looking like this. When she got back inside she made her way to the elevator and hit the button for Abby's lab, not wanting Gibbs or McGee to see her right now. She wiped her eyes, cursing herself for wearing non-waterproof mascara, before the doors opened again.

Abby turned around when she heard her lab doors opened, and put down the files she was holding when she saw Kate's face. She hugged Kate, wishing she'd confronted Tony before Kate had found out.

"You were right," Kate said in between sobs.

"I'm so sorry," Abby replied. After a few minutes Kate pulled back and wiped her face. "You know, I'll kill him for you if you like."

Kate smiled slightly. "It's okay, Abs."

"No, really, I can kill him and leave no trace behind. They'll never suspect me."

Kate shook her head but didn't say anything. She just wanted to curl into a ball and cry for days but she knew she needed to talk to Tony, to find out what the hell was going on. "I should have believed you."

"No, the fact that you didn't means you trust him," Abby replied.

"No. It means I _trusted _him. And I shouldn't have. I should have trusted you."

Abby sighed. "You should go home, Kate, you can't stay here like this. I'll go and talk to Gibbs, okay?"

Kate nodded. "But don't let Tony know. That's if he's there, of course, he's probably still with _her_."

"I'll just talk to Gibbs. And I won't tell him what's going on I'll just say you're...ill or something."

"Thanks Abs." Kate sat down on the chair at Abby's desk. She watched Abby walk to the elevator and up to see Gibbs. She knew Abby was right, she needed to go home. She was no use staying here like this and it wasn't like they had a case to work on. She was still in shock at what she'd seen. It was like a nightmare and she just wanted to wake up and have Tony wrap his arms around her and tell her it was all okay. She kept her eyes on the elevator door the whole time, waiting for Abby to come back. She hoped Gibbs wouldn't ask too many questions, but she knew Abby would cover up for her.

About ten minutes later the doors opened and Abby walked back out. "He said you can go, that he didn't really have anything for you to be doing here anyways. And that he hoped you felt better soon. So did McGee," Abby told her and Kate stood up.

"Was Tony there?" Kate asked. She didn't know why she'd asked that question because she wasn't sure she'd like either answer.

Abby shook her head. "No, sorry," she paused. "Come on, I'll drive you home."

"What about Tony?" Kate asked as they walked into the elevator. "I mean, I live with him sooner or later he'll come home."

"You can stay at mine if you'd rather?" Abby suggested.

Kate thought about it for a moment. She really didn't want to see Tony just yet but she knew the longer she left it the harder it would be. "No, it's fine, just take me home."

Abby nodded. "Okay then." When the elevator doors opened at the ground floor she led Kate to her car. They drove to Kate's apartment in silence, and Abby left her once she was inside.

Kate closed the door and leant against it, letting herself slide down until she was sitting on the floor with her knees tucked against her chest. Only then did she let the tears that had been building up fall down her face and the sobs escape her mouth. She hugged her knees closer to her and tried to stop herself shaking, but it seemed impossible. The only person that could calm her down now was the person who'd made her cry like this in the first place.

She didn't know how long she'd been sitting there, all she knew was she was starving (she hadn't eaten since breakfast) and her eyes were sore from crying so much. She stood up slowly, she was still shaking and found it hard to stand without collapsing again, and walked to the kitchen. She opened a few cupboards, trying to find something to eat, but in the end she settled for ice cream. It wasn't something she ate regularly, only when she was upset about something, so now seemed like the perfect time. She glanced at the clock on the wall and saw it was half four. Tony would be home soon, that was if he hadn't decided to stay with _her._ Kate realized she'd been sat crying for nearly three hours, no wonder she felt drained and worn out. She took the tub of ice cream and a spoon to the couch and laid down. She put a spoonful of the ice cream in her mouth, savouring the taste before taking some more. She knew at the rate she was going it'd all be gone within a few minutes, but she really didn't care. Sure enough, the tub was empty fifteen minutes later, and she put it down on the table before lying back down and closing her eyes. She willed herself to fall asleep, but she couldn't get the image of Tony and that girl out of her head.

She tried to think back over the last few months to see if he'd been acting strange or differently, but she couldn't remember anything. He hadn't bought her flowers or taken her out for dinner on any random occasions, meaning either he didn't have a guilty conscience or he didn't care if she ever found out. He was never suspiciously late home, and had never snuck out during the night that she knew of. He was still as caring and loving as he always had been. Then she tried to think of something she might have done, something that might have made him go to someone else for what she couldn't give him. But he'd never given her any indication that he was bored of her or wanted more.

Kate took a deep breath when she heard a key in the lock. She opened her eyes and stared up at the ceiling, concentrating on breathing evenly so she wouldn't cry. She listened as he walked in and closed the door quietly behind him, maybe he thought she was asleep. She wondered what he'd been told as to why she'd left, she guessed Gibbs had told him the same thing he'd been told; she was feeling ill. Maybe she could tell him not to come near her in case he caught her illness too, but she doubted he'd actually stay away.

Tony closed the door quietly, unsure where Kate was and whether she was awake or asleep. He took off his jacket and hung it up, and then kicked his shoes off into the cupboard. The room was dim and he glanced around at the sofa. He could just see Kate lying there, but he still wasn't sure if she was awake or asleep. He walked around carefully and knelt down at her side.

Kate felt Tony's presence next to her, but she forced herself to keep her eyes closed and not to look at him. She felt his hand brush over her cheek, and his lips press a kiss to her forehead. She gave in and opened her eyes to look at him, and he smiled.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" He asked and she shrugged. "Abby said you weren't feeling too good." She nodded and sat up. She watched his eyes gaze at her, full of concern, and she knew what she was about to do would be hard. He tilted his head and frowned. "Kate? What is it?"

She swallowed hard, taking a deep breath before speaking. "Tony I know," she whispered. For some reason she couldn't speak any louder than that.

"What do you know?"

She looked away. "Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about."

"But I don't, Kate, what is-"

"Don't!" She snapped, suddenly able to speak normally again. She looked back up into his eyes. "I saw you. I saw you with _her_ in town, when you went out to get lunch. Abby told me earlier and I didn't believe her because I trusted you. I didn't want to believe that you could do this to me, I thought you cared, Tony. Every morning since we've been together I've woken up and felt so happy because I've had you next to me. And I thought you were happy too but apparently she's so much better than I am. What the hell did I do wrong?"

Tony stared at her, he wasn't aware that she knew and he certainly wasn't aware Abby knew. He'd wanted to tell her the truth ever since he'd found out but he didn't want her to feel sorry for him. He hadn't wanted her to know the truth, and now that stupid decision could have cost him the best thing in his life. He took her hand in his but she pulled back straight away.

"You can't even answer me!" She continued when he didn't reply. "You must think I'm such an idiot, believing you every time you told me you loved me. You-"

"I do love you, Kate, more than anything," he interrupted her. He wasn't going to let her think he didn't love her.

"Then why do you need her? Why am I not enough for you, that you have to find someone else?" She stood up and walked across the room. She leant against the wall and watched him.

"It's not like that, just let me explain," he replied, not letting himself get worked up.

"Explain? Yeah, okay, I'm going to let you come up with some pathetic excuse as to why you were kissing some other girl earlier. And not just earlier, Abby saw you the other day and I can bet that wasn't the first time," she wiped a tear from her face, she refused to start crying again.

Tony stood up and walked over to her. He put one hand on her waist and the other wrapped around her shoulders, pulling her into him. He was relieved when she didn't resist and leant her head against his chest. "Kate, I love you. You're everything to me and I would never do anything that would make you doubt that. I should have told you what was going on ages ago but it was easier for you not to know. What you saw today, and what Abby saw, wasn't what it looked like. Please, just let me explain," he said quietly.

She pulled away from him and walked away. She couldn't think properly standing that close to him, and she couldn't give in to him now. "No. I don't want you to explain. I just want you to go," she paused. "Well, I'll go. It's your apartment, you can stay here. I just need some time away from you to think about this. You don't get a chance to explain, I know what I saw and I don't want some lame excuse."

"Kate, please..."

"No, Tony. I'm going to get some stuff and I'll be gone. Then you can invite her over and get from her what you're not getting from me tonight." She walked into their bedroom, grabbed a bag and packed the stuff she'd need into it. She walked back into the living room and picked her cell phone up from the table, putting it in her pocket before going to the door.

"Wait, don't go," Tony said suddenly, grabbing her wrist and pulling her into him. This time she tried to fight him off but he wouldn't let go. He took the bag from her hand and put it down on the floor, and wrapped his arms around her tightly. "Please don't go," he whispered, kissing the top of her head over and over again. Once she stopped trying to force him to let go he loosened his grip and started kissing down the side of her face and her neck. She moved her head to the side and closed her eyes, forgetting what had happened earlier that day and just melting at his touch. He ran his hand down her arm and linked his fingers through hers, pulling her hand up to his lips and kissing her fingertips gently. Then he cupped her face in his hands and she opened her eyes to gaze into his. "I love you. Please stay."

She sighed. "I have to go. I can't stay with someone who's hurt me as much as you have today."

He watched her and felt his eyes filling up with tears. He wasn't the kind of guy who cried, but when faced with the thought of losing Kate he could do nothing but sob. He knew she wouldn't stay, no matter what he said. She wouldn't let him explain who the girl really was and why he'd met up with her, and he knew better than to force her into doing anything. He moved his hands away from her face and stepped back.

Kate watched him move away and wiped her face dry. She picked up the bag, turned around and walked out of the door, closing it behind her without looking back. She walked down the hallway and the tears began to fall again, but this time she didn't even try and wipe them away.

**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

_A/2: -ducks flying objects- I'm quite mean, aren't I? So what did you think? That was a long chapter for me, so you should be happy. In the next chapter, we'll find out who the secret girl is, and what the real reason for her and Tony's meetings is. Everything will be resolved soon, I promise. _

_Until next time, -Beth._


	5. Avoiding The Problem

_A/N: This chapter was meant to be completely different to how it turned out. I just got carried away with the case, but next chapter will be better. I could have written the next part in this chapter but then it would have been double to length, so I thought I'd just wait until next time. Just want to say thanks to everyone who reviewed (I know I replied to most of you but I just want to thank you again). I know I'm mean for that last chapter, and I killed a couple of computer mouses lol. Mouses? Mice? Not sure which there. Anyways hope you enjoy this, please review. Thanks Zoe for beta reading._

_Disclaimer: I own Green and Pearce, and I only borrowed them names from the shows I was watching whilst writing this. (Friends and MASH respectively) I just spelt Pearce Zoe's way rather than the MASH way, so yeah, whatever. The bartender never got a name so he's up for grabs. I think I'll call him Bob. :)_

**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

The next day Tony arrived at the office early. He hadn't slept that night and he couldn't stand sitting at home alone any longer. Gibbs was already there and looked up when Tony walked in with a surprised look on his face.

"Tony, what are you doing here this early?" He asked, keeping his voice low. Tony just shrugged. "Where's Kate?"

"I don't know," Tony answered, sitting down at his desk and resting his elbows on the table.

"Did something happen? I thought she was ill yesterday, that was why she left," Gibbs said. He didn't think he could stand having Tony and Kate mad at each other, and although he'd said one of them would have to leave if things didn't work out he really didn't want to lose either agent.

"She wasn't ill. And yes, something did happen. But it's not what she thinks, and she won't let me explain," he sighed and looked over at his boss.

"What is it? And if she doesn't want to listen make her, if you really care, make her listen," Gibbs replied and listened as Tony explained what had happened the day before, and why what she'd seen wasn't what she thought it was. "You need to tell her," he said when Tony had finished explaining.

"I know, but how?"

"That's for you to figure out, Tony. I can't tell you how to win her back, but you need to explain all that to her."

Tony nodded and stood up again. "I'm going to get coffee. I'll be back later. Thanks boss." He walked towards the elevator. He didn't think the coffee would wake him up but it was the only thing he could think of.

**NCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCIS**

Kate opened her eyes and looked around, confused as to where she was. It wasn't the scene she usually woke up to, and she was nowhere near as comfortable as usual. Slowly the events of the previous day came back to her, and she screwed her eyes shut not wanting to cry again. After she'd left her and Tony's apartment, she'd gone to Abby's, not knowing where else she could go. She stood up and stretched, sleeping on a couch had never been something she enjoyed doing in the slightest. She grabbed her bag and walked into the bathroom, gasping when she saw her reflection in the mirror. Her eyes were red and bloodshot, and she still had mascara tracks down her face. Her hair was all over the place and she looked a complete mess. Sighing she stripped and got into the shower, hoping the warm water would soothe her.

When she was finished she changed into some clean clothes, brushed her teeth and walked out to the kitchen. Abby was sat at the table eating breakfast and she hugged Kate when she walked in.

"Hey, how'd you sleep?"

Kate shrugged. "Not too good."

"The couch is uncomfortable, I know. I did say I had something more-"

"Abby I was not going to sleep in a coffin, thank you very much," Kate rolled her eyes.

"Fine," Abby sat down. "Would have been more comfortable though," she muttered.

Kate ignored her last remark and took a piece of toast from the plate on the table. "We should leave soon," she said, noting the time on the clock.

Abby nodded. "Yeah. But we eat first. And anyway, Gibbs probably doesn't expect you in, you're ill remember?"

"Right, yeah. That's if Tony hasn't told him what happened." Kate finished buttering her toast and took a bite.

"I can't see Tony telling Gibbs," Abby stood up and took her plate over to the sink. "I'm ready to leave when you are."

Kate nodded and finished her toast quickly. "I'm ready."

They arrived at the NCIS about fifteen minutes later. Abby walked with Kate to her desk and sat talking to her friend. The other three were already there, but it didn't seem like they had a case to work on yet.

"He won't even look at me," Kate lowered her voice and motioned towards Tony.

Abby turned around and looked at him. "He knows he messed up, that's why."

"Yeah," Kate replied. Just then Gibbs' phone rang and Abby decided it was time for her to go down to her lab.

"We have a case," Gibbs stood up. "Grab your gear, let's go, all three of you."

As they drove to the crime scene Gibbs filled them in on their case. A man had been found stabbed in a back street and police had identified him as Petty Officer Pearce. They arrived at the scene quickly and started work; Kate photographing, and Tony and McGee collecting evidence while Gibbs talked to the woman who'd found the body. Ducky arrived soon after they did and concluded that Pearce had been dead for seven hours, meaning he'd been killed not long after midnight. Ducky and Palmer took the body back to autopsy while Gibbs sorted out who'd be doing what.

"There's a bar just around the corner, Tony I want you to go and see what you can find out from there. I'm going to inform the victim's family. McGee, you're with me. Kate, go with Tony." He knew this may not be the best idea he'd ever had, but he wanted things to be sorted out between the two of them and if this was the only way, he'd have to do it. He saw Kate look at him suspiciously when he told her to go with Tony, but he just looked away.

Kate sighed and watched Gibbs and McGee walk to the car. Tony must have told him what was going on, and they were up to something. She started walking towards the bar, she may as well get to work. The sooner it was done the sooner she could leave Tony.

"Kate wait up," Tony shouted after her, and ran to catch up. They walked in silence, neither knowing what to say first. They saw a man they presumed was the bartender as they walked into the bar, and went over to him. "Excuse me, sir, do you work here?" Tony asked and the man nodded. "I'm Special Agent DiNozzo and this is Special Agent Todd," they flashed their badges. "We're from NCIS and we'd like to ask you a few questions."

"Is this about that dude found round the corner. 'Cause that ain't got nothing to do with me," the man shrugged.

"That 'dude' was a Petty Officer," Kate replied. "And we're not saying you've got anything to do with it, we'd just like ask if you saw him here last night?"

"Unless you've got a guilty conscience, of course," Tony smiled. "You seem very eager to cover something up."

"He was here last night, okay?" The man snapped. "He was here with a load of girls, that enough for you?"

"Who were they?" Kate asked.

"How am I meant to know?" He was getting angry now and he took a step towards Kate.

"Calm down, sir," Tony warned, and put an arm between the man and Kate so he wouldn't get any closer to her. "Do you have any of these girls' names?"

The man glared at Kate before answering. "No."

"How about a video tape?" Tony asked.

"Yeah, we got one of them. You want it?"

Tony nodded. "Please." The man walked behind the bar and into the back storeroom. Tony turned to face Kate and raised his eyebrows. "He's just adorable, isn't he?"

Kate smiled slightly. "Oh, yeah, I can see us getting along nicely." Tony laughed.

Just then the man walked back out of the storeroom holding a tape. "It's just last night, that all you need?"

"Yes, thank you. We'll be back soon I expect," Tony took the tape and started walking towards the door with Kate next to him.

"Don't hurry back on my account," the man called after them.

"Don't worry," Tony said. "We won't."

**NCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCIS**

They drove back to NCIS HQ in silence, the tension hanging heavily in the air. Tony kept glancing over at Kate, who was staring out of the window. She could see him looking at her out of the corner of her eye but she didn't say anything, not wanting to argue. So far the day had been okay, he hadn't tried to make it up to her which was what she had wanted. It would be much easier if they could just go back to how they were before they started dating. They walked up to the bullpen and Tony handed Gibbs the tape.

"From the bar last night," he said. "The man there was...helpful."

"Oh yeah, helpful maybe. Nice, not so much," Kate commented.

"Well I'll make sure the two of you can go back and see him some time." Gibbs looked at the tape Tony had in his hand and frowned. "Not my job to watch that, DiNozzo, that's your fun."

"Gee, thanks boss," Tony said sarcastically. "Just what I need."

"I know," Gibbs replied ignoring the sarcasm in Tony's voice. He turned to Kate. "Abby has all the evidence we bagged and tagged, and she's getting as much information as she can from that. Ducky's carrying out the autopsy. McGee's just..." He trailed off.

"Looking up Petty Officer Green, the man Pearce's wife said he'd been having problems with," McGee replied.

"So what can I do?" Kate asked.

"Help Tony," Gibbs suggested.

"Is that a suggestion or an order?" Kate folded her arms.

"What do you think?" She rolled her eyes and walked over to Tony's desk, sitting down on the edge so she could just about see the screen but wasn't too close to him. "That's Pearce," she pointed to the screen.

"Yup," Tony nodded. "And there's the girls our friend the bartender said about," he pointed to the group of people surrounding Pearce.

They sat and watched for a while until the tape ran out. At about one that morning their victim had left the bar, and the girls had stayed behind. However, about five minutes after Pearce had left, another man followed him out. McGee informed them that this man looked a lot like Green.

"Right, Tony and McGee go and pay Petty Officer Green a visit," Gibbs ordered. When they had gone Kate went down to Abby's lab to see how much evidence she'd found.

"Hey Abs," Kate walked up next to her friend.

"Hey Kate. Look what I found," she pointed at the screen. "There was a broken beer bottle lying on the floor near where the body was, and there was blood on it."

"Pearce's blood?"

Abby nodded. "And that's not all. There were also fingerprints which didn't match the victims. Instead they matched Petty Officer..."

Kate cut her off. "Green."

"Yeah. How'd you know?" Abby looked a little disappointed.

"Pearce's wife told Gibbs and McGee that he'd been having some problems with Petty Officer Green. And when Tony and I looked through the security tapes, guess who followed Pearce out of the bar?"

"Green." Abby nodded. "Of course."

"I'm going to go tell Gibbs what you found. Nice work Abs," Kate smiled and walked out of the lab. Gibbs was back at his desk when she walked into the bullpen. "Hey, Gibbs, guess what Abby found?"

"Guess what Ducky found?"

"Me first," Kate smiled. "The broken beer bottle found near Pearce was covered in his blood, and Green's fingerprints. Now you go."

"I was going to say Ducky's concluded that Pearce was stabbed with a glass bottle," Gibbs stood up. "Which you told me anyway."

"Sorry, Gibbs, I-"

"Don't apologize, it's a sign-"

"Of weakness, right," she paused. "Where are you going?"

"To arrest Petty Officer Green."

**NCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCIS**

"Nice work everybody," Gibbs said as they arrived back at NCIS that evening. Green had admitted to murdering Pearce as soon as Gibbs stepped into the interrogation room, saying he'd only wanted to talk but things had gotten out of control. Gibbs had commented it must have been really out of control for a man to end up dead, but Green didn't respond. "Go home, sleep, see you tomorrow."

McGee and Kate left straight away, but Tony held back sorting out some things on his desk. When the other two were gone he walked over to Gibbs' desk. "You still think I should tell her the truth, boss?"

Gibbs looked up at him and raised his eyebrows. "If you want her back, yes."

Tony nodded. "Okay. I'll see you tomorrow," he started walking away but stopped after a few steps and turned back. "Thanks boss."

Gibbs smiled. "No problem, now go."

**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

_A/N2: I know I said you'd know what the hell was going on in this chapter, but I got carried away. Next chapter I promise everything will be revealed. Please review and let me know what you thought though._

_-Beth _


	6. Finally Getting To The Truth

_A/N: Sorry guys I know I said this would be up last night but the site was being stupid and slow so I couldn't. Please don't hate me! I feel really bad. This time, I promise you'll find out what's going on. I know Tony's an only child but him having a sister fits this story, just go with it! Sorry if it's crappy though I'm really ill at the moment, and I should be sleeping or just curled up watching a movie, but I felt like I should write this. Thanks to everyone who reviewed you guys are awesome!! Hope you enjoy this and please review. Thanks to Zoe for beta reading. _

_Disclaimer: Haven't we already been through this? It's not mine!! But I do own the random guy, Daniel, Olivia and Elise. But Daniel and the random guy are for sale b/c I don't like them. _

**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Kate stood outside the building for a few minutes, trying to decide where to go. Abby had a party to go to, and she didn't feel like being alone at the moment. She couldn't go back to hers because Tony would be there, if not now then later that evening. She sighed and decided to find a bar, if not for company then to drown her sorrows in alcohol.

When Tony got outside he looked around but couldn't see where Kate had gone. He highly doubted she'd have gone back to their apartment, and he knew Abby wouldn't be at hers so he didn't expect Kate to be there either. He knew Gibbs was right, if he really wanted her back he had to tell her the truth. He shouldn't have kept it from her this long but he was sure it was the right thing to do. He just hoped she'd understand why he'd done it. He dug his hands in his pockets and began walking down the road, just letting his feet carry him somewhere.

Ten minutes later he stopped and looked up at the building in front of him. He smiled slightly to himself as he remembered this was where he'd asked Kate to move in with him one night when they were out with the team. He pushed the door open and walked up to the bar, ordered a beer and sat down on a stool. He took a gulp from the bottle and leant forwards, resting his elbows on the bar. He couldn't believe that he and Kate had only been apart for a day, it felt like so much longer. He missed her so much it hurt. He hated that he wasn't able to walk up to her that day just to kiss her for no reason, and he hated that she looked so upset. Even if to everyone else she looked normal, he could tell differently. He could see through the mask she wore that she felt just as bad as he did, but probably worse because she didn't know the truth.

He downed the rest of his beer quickly and slammed the bottle down, a little harder than he'd intended. He glanced up and held back a gasp when he saw Kate on the other side of the bar. It took everything he had to resist the urge to walk around to her and make the man next to her leave her alone. He tried not to stare, but the look in her eye when the guy wouldn't leave her alone angered him so much.

Kate closed her eyes and tried to ignore the irritating man next to her. Why couldn't he just leave her alone? Could he not see she was getting more and more pissed off with every word he said? She turned to face him and glared, but he didn't budge. Usually that glare sent anyone away within seconds, but he seemed to think it was an encouragement. She watched his hands as he explained something to her, but she had no interest in listening to what he was saying.

"Can you just leave me alone?" She continued to glare at him. He didn't respond, too wrapped up in what he was saying to listen to what she said. She took a deep breath and repeated herself but still he didn't respond. _Would he even notice if I walked away?_ she thought to herself, but she knew he'd probably just follow her. She wanted to go home, she wanted to sleep. Well, if she was being truthful she wanted to go home with Tony, but that was out of the question now. A day? Was that all it had been since they'd broken up? It felt like a lifetime to her. She looked back at the man next to her. "Can you just leave me alone, please?" This time she raised her voice and he listened.

"What?" He had a dumb look on his face that usually would of made her laugh, but she really wasn't in the mood.

"I just want to be alone, okay? Just go," she watched as he started to smile.

"You know, you'll have no fun on your own, you should come with me," he winked.

Kate rolled her eyes and turned her body so she was facing him full on. "Seriously? You have got to be kidding me?"

His face didn't drop. He moved his hand and let it rest on her knee. "Come on," he lowered his voice.

She pushed his hand away. "Leave. Now."

Tony watched as the guy continued to harrass her. He couldn't restrain himself any longer, so he stood up and walked around to where they were sitting.

"Leave her alone," he said calmly, not wanting to get angry unless he really had to. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Kate look at him, but he kept his eyes on the guy next to her.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" The guy obviously had no intention of keeping calm.

"I could ask you the same question," Tony replied.

He rolled his eyes. "Look, unless you're her husband or something," he leant forward but didn't lower his voice so Kate could still hear him. "And personally I think she could do a lot better." He sat back up again. "Then _you_ leave her alone."

Tony glared at him. "I'm not her husband, but there's no way in hell I'm letting a scum like you near her. So go, now, before I beat the hell out of you."

The guy shook his head and stood up. "Whatever. She's not that hot anyway," he said and walked away.

Tony took a deep breath and held back from punching the guy. He waited until he was gone to turn back to Kate. "You okay?"

She looked at him and raised her eyebrows. "Like you care."

"I do care. Whether or not you believe it." He sat down on the stool and smiled at her.

"I think after the last couple of days I'd be really stupid to believe it, don't you?" She took a sip of her drink.

"Kate..."

"Don't, just leave it. You should have done what you just did, I can take care of myself," she looked away from him.

"I know you can, but..."

"But you just wanted to show me how great you were by scaring him off, right? Like it would make what you did alright," she snapped.

"I didn't..."

"I know, you didn't cheat on me with someone else because it wasn't what it looked like." She stood up. "I've heard that line before, Tony, I didn't believe it then and I don't believe it now. I'm going home, and don't you dare follow me."

Tony sighed and watched her leave. He knew he could follow her and force her to listen to him, but it wasn't the right way to go about this. She had to really want to listen, that was the only way it would work. He turned back around and ordered another beer, the truth would have to wait another night.

**NCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCIS**

The next day Kate didn't go into work. She'd told Abby what had happened at the bar, and had also told her to tell Gibbs unless he really needed her she wouldn't be in. She lay on the couch watching old movies for most of the day, dozing off every now and then. She woke up for the last time at about six when she heard a key in the door.

"Kate, I'm home," she heard Abby shout, and she stood up.

"Hey Abs," she yawned. "Good day?"

Abby shrugged. "I guess. Missed you. Tony asked where you were but I wouldn't tell him, so now he's mad at me for ignoring him."

Kate smiled. "You don't have to ignore him on account of me."

"Oh, I do. _Anybody, _and I mean anybody, screws over a friend of mine and I'll ignore them." She grabbed two mugs from the shelf and started making them both hot chocolate. "And what he did deserves about...a week's ignoring. Maybe more, depending on how much he annoys me."

"Okay, Abs, if you insist." Kate handed her the kettle once it had boiled. "So, any plans for tonight?"

Abby nodded. "Well, yeah, kind of. But you can come too."

"Where?" Kate asked warily. She had learnt never to accept offers to go out from Abby after many disasters before.

"A party, of course," Abby grinned.

"Again? Didn't you go to one last night?" Kate raised her eyebrows.

"You say it like it's a bad thing," she winked. "And I'll take that as a no. Well I have plenty of DVDs, I guess you could stay here and watch them, or..."

"I think I'll go out," Kate cut her off.

"After last night?" Abby stopped what she was doing and looked at Kate as if she were mad.

"Yeah," she shrugged. "I'll be fine, Abs, I promise."

"Okay. If you're sure." She handed her the mug of steaming hot chocolate. "Now drink this."

**NCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCIS**

Later that evening after Abby had left, Kate made her way down to the same bar she'd been at the night before. She knew she should really find somewhere else to go, but all she wanted was to get out and she didn't have the energy to walk any further.

She took a seat at the bar before ordering a drink and glancing around the room. It was still quite early so there weren't many people there, but she knew it would fill up quickly. She turned back to her drink and took a sip, she had the whole night so she wouldn't let herself drink too much just yet. Within an hour the room was full and most of the bar stools around her were taken. She thought about moving and going home, but she really didn't feel like being alone and Abby would still be out.

"Is this seat taken?" She looked up and saw a man pointing to the stool next to hers. She shook her head and he sat down. "I'm Daniel, by the way." She turned to face him and nodded, before turning away again. "And you are?" He asked.

"Kate," she replied unenthusiastically. She really couldn't be bothered to talk to anyone.

"Cool." He ordered a drink and didn't say anything for a while. _That's it, Daniel, just keep quiet, _she thought, but she wasn't in luck. "So you come here often?"

She took a deep breath and faced him. "Look, Daniel, I don't mind you sitting there, but could you please not try to make conversation."

He shrugged. "Fine, whatever. You just looked like you could use cheering up."

She glared at him and shook her head in disbelief. "You don't have the right to say that to me."

"Well it's true," he replied, obviously not knowing when to shut up. "I mean, you're sitting here alone, you don't look happy, and you've been here too long to be waiting for someone."

"You really shouldn't jump to conclusions like that," she snapped. "I'm leaving now, have a nice evening," she said sarcastically and walked away. She considered finding somewhere else to sit but she didn't want to have another guy like Daniel annoy her, so she left the pub and stood outside. She took a deep breath, taking in the cool night air, thinking about going home and taking up Abby's earlier offer of sitting watching DVDs.

Tony watched as Kate walked out of the door. He knew he shouldn't follow her, she'd only yell at him and that's not what he wanted to happen. He'd watched as another guy had hit on her, but this time he resisted the urge to go over and make him leave her alone. The guy was now sitting alone, but Tony noticed how he kept glancing between his watch and the door Kate had just walked out of. He then stood up and followed Kate out, and Tony decided he couldn't let him leave without making sure he didn't find her.

Kate turned her head to look at the door as she heard it open, and Daniel walked out. She tried to lean further back and hide against the wall but it was no use, he saw her and walked closer. He stopped in front of her and smiled, and Kate felt chills run down her back.

"Decided to wait for me, did you?" He moved in closer and put a hand on either side of her. She heard the door opened again but he forced her head around and clasped a hand over her mouth so she couldn't call for help. Whoever walked out of the door seemed to go the other way, and after a few seconds Daniel moved his hand back.

Tony walked in the opposite direction to where Kate and the guy were, and stood behind a bin. He could still see where they were, and he saw the guy move his hand away from her mouth when he thought nobody was around.

"So, your place or mine?" Daniel leant in and whispered in Kate's ear. She could smell the alcohol on his breath and tried to push him back. "You don't want to do that, I'm much stronger than you." He put a hand on her waist and pulled her against him. She could feel her breathing get quicker and she prayed someone would walk out of the bar and help her. She knew if she tried hard enough she could push him off, he didn't know how strong she really was, but she was glued to the spot with fear. She felt his hand move across her stomach and up to her chest, and she tried to control her breathing.

Tony watched as the guy ran his hands over her body and tried to kiss her. He felt the anger build up inside of him and decided he'd waited long enough. He moved away from the bin and started walking quickly towards them. "Hey," he said, but the guy didn't seem to hear him. "Leave her alone," he raised his voice as he got closer. The guy looked around at him but didn't move.

"She's fine," he glared at Tony before looking back to Kate. "Tell him, babe."

Kate didn't say anything and just looked up at Tony. She bit her lip and he saw fear flash in her eyes. "She's not fine, now leave her alone," Tony repeated.

Daniel shook his head. "I think it'd be best if you went now. Don't act like the hero, we don't need it."

Tony grabbed his arm and pushed him back against the wall. "Leave. Her. Alone. Now," he warned before pushing him away.

Daniel took a couple of seconds to get his balance before going to walk back up to Kate, but Tony saw him first and turned around, punching his face as hard as he could. Daniel fell back again and held his face. "Bastard," he muttered. "You'll pay for that." But he turned around and walked away.

Tony watched him go and turned back to Kate when he heard her sniff. He moved closer to her but not too close that she felt threatened. "You okay?" He smiled.

She nodded and wiped her eyes. "I am now," she smiled slightly. "Thanks."

He shrugged. "I wasn't exactly going to let him hurt you, was I?" He put a hand on her shoulder. "Let me take you home." She nodded and pushed off the wall. He put his arm around her shoulders properly and pulled her against him.

After a few steps she stopped and he looked down at her questioningly. She bit her lip and threw her arms around him, burying her head into his neck. She tried to stop her tears falling but it was no use and the sobs started to rack through her body. He wrapped his arms around her tightly and kissed her temple gently. "It's okay, Kate, you're safe now. I promise I'll never let anyone hurt you." He felt her nod and then pull away. "Come on, let's go home out of the cold." She nodded again.

**NCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCIS**

They arrived home not long after and Tony walked Kate to the couch before making her a coffee. She sat in silence while he was in the kitchen, wondering if it was really a good idea that she was back at their apartment with him. He handed her the coffee and she took it, letting him sit down and put his arm around her again.

"Kate we need to talk," he said quietly.

"If you say so," she mumbled.

"I know you don't want to hear it, but I really want you to know the truth." He kissed her cheek.

"Okay, fine, what do you need to say." She took a sip of the coffee, wincing as it burnt her tongue, and set the mug down on the table.

He took a deep breath. "The girl you saw me with, Olivia, she's a friend of my sister's." Kate adjusted how she was sitting so she was facing him. "Three years ago, Elise, that's my sister, was diagnosed with breast cancer. She went through the treatment and it seemed she was safe. But a couple of months ago she was told the cancer had come back and that it was too late to try and treat it, so she was given a month to live." He took a deep breath and Kate bit her lip. "She died two weeks ago."

Kate gasped and put her arm around his neck. "Tony I'm so sorry," she kissed his cheek gently.

He nodded and carried on. "Olivia's been there for the family through the whole thing. She and Elise met in third grade and have been friends ever since, so she's been really cut up about it too." He paused and put his arm around Kate's waist.

"I should have let you explain," she whispered and pulled back to look at him. "I should have let you explain then none of this would have happened, I'm so sorry."

He shook his head. "It wasn't your fault, I should have told you to begin with."

"Why didn't you?" She asked. "Sorry to be a pain, but you know you can trust me."

Tony nodded. "I know, I just didn't want you to feel sorry for me. If I had told you I would have had to tell Gibbs and the team, and I couldn't have stood them all sympathetic. If I hid it from you I could hide it from them easier. I'm sorry, it was stupid."

She smiled. "It kind of was, yes."

He rolled his eyes and brushed her hair out of her eyes. "I love you, Kate."

She nodded. "I love you too."

He leant forwards and kissed her lips gently. She kissed him back and smiled into the kiss, running her hand up his chest and pulling herself closer to him. He tangled his hand through her hair and she moaned against his mouth. He pulled back and kissed along her jaw line and down to her neck. He pushed her back and crawled on top of her, not moving his lips from her skin. She tugged at the bottom of his shirt and pulled it over his head, causing his lips to leave her for a second. She looked up into his eyes and smiled. "Stay here tonight," he whispered and she nodded. She started to undo his belt buckle and he kissed her again, getting all the encouragement he needed.

**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

_A/N2: See, happy ending. It's what I'm good at!! You should know that everything I write has a happy ending, well happy in some ways. Maybe I do have a couple of exceptions. _Take A Shot For You_ wasn't exactly happy. Anyways they will be an epilogue up soon, which will basically be Tate fluff. Yay. Please review:)_

_-Beth_


	7. Happy Again

_A/N: Go ahead and moan, I know it's been ages since I last updated but I've been really busy, so I'm sorry. This'll be the last chapter of this fic, so I hope you enjoy it. I know it's short but there wasn't much else to write; I didn't want you to make me write more LOL. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed or added to favourites, or even just read. You guys are awesome!!_

_Beta: Zoe (QueenSatan). Thank you. _

_Disclaimer: Nope, not mine. La dee da._

**NCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCIS**

Kate opened her eyes slowly and smiled to herself, the memories of the previous night coming back to her. She turned over but frowned when she saw the other side of the bed was empty. _That's strange, _she thought, _it was a dream, was it? _

She sat up and looked around the room; everything was as she remembered, and she hoped Tony hadn't left already. She pushed herself up, wrapping the sheet around her, before walking through to the living room. She leant against the doorframe and smiled when she saw Tony in the kitchen preparing breakfast; he had his back to her and hadn't yet noticed she was there. She stifled a laugh as he attempted to flip a pancake only to have it land on the floor next to him, and he turned to face her.

"Morning sleepyhead," he said, putting the pan down and walking towards her.

"Hey," she replied, and stepped into his open arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her head into his chest.

"I didn't sleep that long, did I?" she asked, her voice muffled slightly by the material of his shirt.

"Not really, I guess." He kissed the top of her head gently.

"How long have you been awake?" She pulled away and looked into his eyes.

He shrugged. "Not sure. I woke up pretty early and couldn't get back to sleep; you were just too cute to watch while sleeping." He brushed the hair out of her eyes and kissed her cheek. "Then I got up to make us breakfast."

Kate nodded. "Pancakes?" she nodded towards the kitchen.

"Of course. Only the best for my girl," he smiled. "You ready for them now?"

"Sure," she replied. "Not off the floor though, please."

Tony looked at her, hurt. "Are you saying I can't make pancakes?" He tried to act upset but she could hear the teasing in his voice.

She winked. "Of course not," she said and linked her fingers through his, allowing him to lead her to the kitchen.

He led her to the kitchen table, pulled a chair out and let her sit down. There was already syrup, sugar and chocolate spread on the table, and she smiled at how organized he seemed to be. Then he walked back into the kitchen and brought the plate of pancakes to the table in front of her. He put a pancake on her plate before taking a seat opposite her.

"Ladies first," he said, pushing the syrup towards her.

She smiled and took it, putting a generous amount on her pancake before returning the pot to the table. They settled into a general conversation, talking about work and their last case, before Tony loaded the plates into the dishwasher.

"What time is it?" Kate asked after they'd tidied away.

"Just gone eight," Tony replied, leaning against the table.

"Okay. I'm gonna take a shower then," she replied, taking a towel from the cupboard.

Tony grinned. "Want me to join you?"

She turned to face him and tilted her head, trying not to show the smirk on her face. "Do you want to join me?"

He pushed away from the table and grabbed a towel before running into the bathroom in front of her. She shook her head and laughed, following him in.

**TATETATETATETATETATE**

Forty five minutes later, they emerged from the bedroom dressed and ready for work. Kate grabbed her car keys and jacket while Tony waited by the door.

"Guessing you want a ride to work?" she asked.

"Yeah, that'd be nice." He took her hand and opened the door. "You ready?"

She nodded. "Let's go."

They arrived at NCIS HQ soon after, and Gibbs couldn't help but smile when he saw the two of them arrive together and looking happy. He knew even if they hadn't worked it out, they'd have put up with each other at work and got on with the job, but them being happy together made everyone else's lives a hell of a lot easier.

"Hey, boss," Tony greeted him.

Gibbs simply nodded. "Kate, I think Abby wanted to see you."

"Already?" she asked.

"Yup."

Kate nodded and kissed Tony's cheek before walking to the elevator. When she walked into Abby's lab she was pushed backwards by Abby's immediate hug.

"Hey, Abs," Kate laughed.

Abby pulled away and grinned. "You look happy," she stated.

"I am," Kate replied.

Abby rolled her eyes. "Why?"

"Tony," she replied simply, causing Abby to grin even wider and squeal.

"Yay!" Abby jumped up and down. "So, tell me all..."

Back in the bullpen, Tony had taken a seat at his desk and had turned on his computer when Gibbs walked over to him.

"So, everything work out okay last night?" Gibbs asked.

Tony nodded and smiled to himself. "Yeah, it was perfect."

"Good."

Tony looked up at him and frowned slightly. "Boss, can I ask you something?" Gibbs nodded. "Why aren't you mad at us? I mean, you have rules about this kind of thing."

Gibbs shrugged. "You just remind me of me."

**NCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCIS**

_A/N2: Yeah. Lame, I know. I could have made that so much better but I really don't have the time. Anyways, thanks again to everyone, please review just one last time._

_Until next time, Beth :)_


End file.
